In the original report titled “A Nation at Risk,” there seemed to be a great deal of evidence that, because the American educational system was declining, the entire country was as well. As future teachers, we all understand the value of a good education, but many of us felt uneasy about the ways in which “A Nation at Risk” and its follow-up article, “A Nation Accountable,” argued that main the purpose of education was to enable America to achieve and maintain the “number one” spot both in terms of the global economy and military.
Moreover, many of us felt uneasy or even disgusted that the concerns in “A Nation at Risk” were driven by greed and competitiveness. In their responses, many students acknowledged feelings of uncertainty about how student achievement can accurately be measured and how teachers might be rewarded or penalized as a result. We have, as a whole, come to the realization that the purpose of the American education system is to give all students an equal opportunity to learn and explore with the support and guidance of trained, caring educators.
We acknowledge that it’s somewhat scary to see the statistics presented in “A Nation at Risk,” and “A Nation Accountable,” because of what they seem to be saying about the American education system. At the same time, we hold the belief that, often, each of our students have struggles and successes that are impossible to measure, especially with a standardized test. Yet, because of the way the system is currently structured, many teachers feel pressured to “teach to the test” and are unable to spend as much time __educating the “whole” child__ as they would probably like to. Could this be the real reason why our education system is falling behind those of other countries? As a class, the majority of us picked up on some common threads in areas in which our country needs improvement, and posed potential solutions for our struggling system. Many of us felt that __teachers need to feel empowered__ rather than stigmatized and fearful of being “punished” for lack of student performance on standardized tests. Education should be treated like a serious profession, and __teachers should receive support__ (both financially and morally) for what they do. Many of us also felt that legislators who have little understanding of what it means to be a teacher and what the profession is actually like are calling all the shots when it comes to where the system is headed. It is the teacher that knows his or her students best, and it is the teacher that will be able to best support them and guide them to reaching their full potential. If some of the pressure to “perform” was lifted of the shoulders of America’s teachers, perhaps we would begin to see more growth and improvement within the education system.
Alaina
After reading the initial Nation at Risk article, I gained the sense that the educational system was seen as failing since the upcoming generation was the first to receive less education than their parents. In comparison to other countries, this work stressed the low achievement set out by the United States, especially in the areas of science and technology. It claimed that due to this, future students would not be prepared to live and work in our current world. A key aspect that was highlighted was the idea of a learning society, where life-long learning is established in all, and learning extends outside the school and into the constructs of home and society. I thought this was a great concept, however, instilling a lifelong love for learning in students who dislike school can prove difficult. Lastly, when this article discussed the tools at hand for overcoming the lack of educational stance, I was surprised. To begin, one of the tools was "the dedication, against all odds, that keeps teachers serving in schools and colleges, even as the rewards diminish" while I think this is a valuable tool, the government clearly highlights that educators and underrepresented, in the work that they do. In essence, I found this statement to support the abuse of educators in the workforce, knowing that their passions will keep them in schools despite worsening conditions in payment or benefits. I feel as if educators are a valuable tool, they should be treated as such. Based on the information above, I think one of the key reasons for the decrease in national educational ability is partly also due to the actual inclusion of those who had not equally received education before. This was essentially the first generation where many different races, language speakers, and abilities were upheld in the public education system. Therefore this made the achievement seem less in terms of testing, as these individuals had not been included up until this point, or received the education they rightfully deserved in the past. It is clear that 25 years later the United States education system is not where it should be. Although changes have been made including hiring high quality teachers, setting national standards, and testing the performance of high schools, students are achieving at similar levels to 1983. One of the interesting facts I found is that even though spending per pupil has gone up in the United States, the performance of students has not risen. This is contrary to the belief that more resources and money per student yields better results. Another area that continues to need more work are inner city areas, where the graduation rate is only at 50%. One of the reforms the article talks about is paying teachers based on performance, and thus resulting with more qualified teachers. As a future educator I find this idea very questionable, as if you base teacher performance off of tests it will result in cheating, or teaching to the test. In addition, it makes it so teachers are constantly being rated for their effectiveness. If teachers are to self report their success they might set lower standards for their students than others. I think paying teachers on a performance based level is difficult, as it takes some teachers half the year to get students to want to learn the material. This is not because they are not making progress, but because they must meet the emotional and social needs of the students before they can learn. I am curious to see how present reforms model the world that I will be teaching in, and see if things improve based off the findings of this research.
Sarah
Education has changed immensely throughout time. Starting from a small schoolhouse to where we are now in such a short time is something to be very proud of. Through all of the changes in integration, women's rights, special education, so on and so forth, there have been huge deficits in other places that people are having a hard time realizing. In 1983, A Nation at Risk was published. This article was one that informed the educators, law makers, parents and students alike of the places in which schools were seriously lacking. 25 years later, an updated article was released and the ideas were not that much more advanced. We are in the same place as we were then. But where exactly are we failing, and is there even anyone to point fingers at?
For so long, educators were expected to just teach what the students needed to know, but now there is a current switch in how exactly we are teaching these students, and how we are trying to make sure that the content that we are teaching are keeping up with what they need to be learning. This is an idea that isn't very new but it is something that is happening so that our students aren't leaving school with little to no interest in what they were taught. The statistics of students who didn't go to college, and those who went and didn't graduate show such a decline in interest from students. We are slowly starting to realize, as a nation, that maybe just because we are constantly testing our children trying to find their progress; the learning comes from in the classroom and not just the test. I think that no matter how much effort we make as a society, there will always be a deficit somewhere. There needs to be a big change in how our educational system works, but because of politics, past views on education, current views on education, laws and such, the changes needed to take place will take such a long time before they get here! The biggest change in the 25 years since the first article was written was No Child Left Behind, but as we are reading today, in 2017, No Child Left Behind no longer exists, and has been replaced with something new. This is probably going to happen so many more times throughout my career. Will the system get it right eventually? Of course it will, but it is just going to take time, and persistent teachers to get it that far.
Elizabeth
While reading "A Nation at Risk," a question popped into my mind: Why are we competing? The basis of the author's anxiety seems to be the fear that other countries will surpass us in all areas and therefore ruin our economy. I am disgusted by the notion that schooling only serves the purpose of preparing young people to serve capitalism. We should not be trying to compete with other nations. The victories of other nations, such as the widespread implementation of renewable energy, are victories for humankind, and should be celebrated as such. Education is about empowering students and helping them to discover what their life means to them. We lose sight of that when we become obsessed with comparing students to each other, and to students in other nations.
The follow up to "A Nation at Risk" was published in 2008, 25 years after the original assessment. So what's changed since 1983? In short, not much. In the eyes of the authors of this report, this country is still in grave danger. Test scores aren’t high enough. Not enough kids are literate or graduating or attending institutions of higher learning.
To be honest, these statistics really don't mean anything to me. Testing and even erroneous content knowledge (like memorizing an entire poem but not understanding a word of it) are not indicators of a high school student's success in my eyes at all. We're all educators. We understand that each student is beautifully unique. Each student has their own personal struggles and triumphs, neither of which can usually be measured by any test. Teachers see small miracles every single day. That’s what we all care about.
In my mind, the only solution is to give students support and choice. Students should have to pass a couple of years of all their core academic subjects. During this time, they should be given ample time to practice and demonstrate skills with support from their instructors, free from grading penalties. At the end of their classes, their skills should be evaluated. This is where proficiency-based education is leading us. From there, students should be able to choose a career concentration of their choice, where they will learn from teachers with knowledge of that particular area (i.e., an electrician teaches students about the science behind their career) and also gain skills that will directly benefit them in that career. We have to treat students as people who are seeking to do something great with their lives, not simply pass. Only then will we be able to address the problems with the educational system.
Jordan
After reading the Nation a Risk article, I got the feeling that our educational system has not improved over generations. With times changing, students today are falling behind our advanced technological world. The article mentioned that because of low achievement, students would not be fit to live and work in our society. It claimed that we are entering the “information age” where learning is an investment of time and practice. A world where people want to be told what to think rather than developed their own thoughts. Schools today are driven to much by standardized tests and academic standards. Self discovery has become nonexistent in schools. For example students learn math today by memorizing formulas and definitions. This is why they are not prepared to live and work in our society. To fix this problem the article explained the concept of a learning society, where life-long learning is established in all. This gives students the power to be productive citizens both in and out of the classroom. Becoming a life-long learner instills the power of a good creative and practical problem solver, which is what all jobs are looking for.
25 years later and we are right back where we started. Many changes have been made like higher educated teachers, higher national standards, and performance testing of high school students. Even with this changes students are still performing at the same level as 1983. One interesting fact that I read, that make sense but the outcome was not expected, was how the achievement level has stayed the same but we are spending a lot more money on schools. This is a counter example of how teachers believe that more money leads to more resources, which leads to better learning. At the end of the day it goes back to how we are educating students. Are we giving them a way to think or are we helping them to become life-long learners.
John
In the beginning of the Nation at Risk article, it talked about different risks in the American world. One of the things was the American industries aren’t top of the line anymore. Things are being replaced by other countries overseas that can make products better and cheaper. This takes jobs away from Americans and takes us off the top of the developing world in some areas. The biggest risk is the intelligence of the American people. It’s important to have citizens that can all reach a common understanding of complex issues. Unfortunately, our education system isn’t always set up for everyone to succeed. Throughout the article it brings up many different educational points that the American people are lacking in. All of this was back in the 80’s. So how have we improved?
Some states made a step in the right direction by switching to a standards based education. It was a bumpy road and mistakes were made. That being said, it was a smart choice that could work towards fixing those mistakes and gradually improve. The biggest thing for me that I notice was the cost of getting an education. Getting a solid and up to date education can cost a lot of money. Even average schooling can be costly. If this isn’t a problem that gets addressed soon, then any progress we’ve made could hit a plateau simply because it will cost too much to get an education. On top of this, performance in high school hasn’t gotten any better since the 80’s and it could have actually gotten worse.
There is still so much that needs to be done about the education system and I don’t know if we will ever be able to solve all of the problems. If we fix one, there’s no guarantee that two more won’t take its place. I’m hopeful, however that we will be able to make improvements in the system but only if we really put the time and effort into it. It will likely cost a lot of money too.
Marissa
The tone of A Nation at Risk is certainly very fearful and puts a lot of importance in the ‘we’re number 1’ attitude that many Americans had and continue to have. Looking back, it’s hard to say that that attitude got us anywhere we wanted to be. Now, more than thirty years later very little has changed in our educational system and standardized test scores tell us that it still isn’t working. I think one of the biggest problems that the United States faces now is that education is not our highest priority. While the individual might cite education as a high priority our nations spending tells another story. Educators are simply not given their due and politicians are the ones writing legislation with little knowledge of how things play out in real life schools. If you look at countries such as South Korea and Japan the teachers there are paid more, given more support in their classrooms, and valued more in society. In the United States teaching is no longer seen as a highly-encouraged occupation. There is a common (and not at all misguided) notion that teaching is a grueling and thankless job – so why would anyone want to go into education? The catch is that we need excellent teachers now more than ever who can help move education in a positive direction. I think along with this needs to come support from the government – local, state, and federal – that backs up the lip-service telling us that education is a priority. We need current and former educators working together to make legislation that will bring about actual changes in test scores. We need more than good educators to increase test score, we need a change in mentality and we need to put our money where our mouth is in a way that is productive.
Riley
A Nation at Risk
This country is definitely in a tough spot when it come to education. We used to be one of the world leaders in education, but now our students test scores are middle of the pack at best. A big point brought up though is that in the years since 1983 America has put a lot more focus on education and what the problem is. Luckily now we area actively pursuing solutions to our mediocre test scores. Unfortunately, our test scores have gotten slightly worse since 1983.
Another alarming factor is the amount of kids who do not achieve a high school diploma. A crazy statistic from the article was that as of 2008 minority students only had about a 50% chance of graduating, with Native Americans below 50%.
A very positive fact is that our teachers are becoming more and more qualified due to an emphasis on teacher quality. A system that I really like is the performance based salary that some schools have adopted where teachers get paid different amounts depending on how well they are doing their jobs.
I think a big factor in this whole problem though is the problem of poverty and of parents who may not care about their childs education. I think the culture has changed when it comes to parents expectations of their kids in school. I think back in the days of America being on top in the education world parents were a lot stricter with making sure their kids worked hard in school. Of course, the poverty levels do not help either because we all know that if a students needs aren't met, he/she is not going to perform well in school.
Laura
These two articles, “A Nation at Risk” (published in 1983) and its follow-up article, “A National Accountable” (published in 2008) both act as “calls to action” for improving the American education system as it has drastically fallen behind those of competing countries in the past few decades.America was once a leader in world markets but is now performing well behind global counterparts, and these articles identify our faltering education system as the root cause of this predicament.Personally, I agree that a quality education is the cornerstone to an individual’s success and therefore the success of communities and a country as a whole, and I do feel that we need to re-evaluate the standards and expectations to which American students are held, but I do not necessarily agree with all of the ways in which these articles suggest we make these changes.“A Nation Accountable” provides a list of five different areas in which changes need to be made in order to reboot the national education system, many of which are necessary in general, but when it comes down to the fine-print, I believe that the government is placing too much accountability on students and teachers alike—so much to the point that it is doing more harm than good.For example, the article speaks highly of the No Child Left Behind Act, assuming that it has done only good and no wrong.While I believe that every student should be held to high standards and that a standards-based education system can provide teachers with a tangible framework to help them determine the areas in which their students should succeed, I do not agree with the high-stakes associated with standardized testing.I also do not believe that these tests are enough to determine whether or not a teacher is “superior, average, or poor” and if they should be “terminated” or not.This is what I believe, however: I believe in positive student/teacher relationships in which the teacher provides each of his/her students with the confidence that they are able to be successful, even under the most challenging circumstances, and that there are many more effective and accurate ways for students to demonstrate academic prowess besides through standardized tests.The government needs to support teachers and their students, and the best way to do this is to provide teachers with plenty of resources and the freedom to attend to the differing needs and learning styles of their students, without the unnecessary stress that high-stakes testing evokes.After all, it is the teachers that know best, and they are the ultimate key to their students’ success and the future of this country.
Costa
I found the combined Nation at Risk assessments on American education to be very interesting reads. I was not surprised by the metrics pointing out that American education systems are producing students that are not performing as well as students in other countries, but I felt that some of the concerns of the original report were unfortunate, if not unsettling. The heavy focus on the implications that failing schools would have on our military, and our overall global supremacy as a nation, just doesn’t sit well with me, but thankfully those concerns are not as prevalent in the 25 year update. I don’t see anything wrong with comparing educational systems from around the world, and trying to improve our performance for the sake of our students, nation and planet, but I find it problematic to view education as a competition, and a means for military advancements. In my ideal world, all nations would be using education to work towards global disarmament, so seeing the priorities of only 35 years ago was disappointing, yet expected. Another thing that stood out to me was the mention of teachers having their pay match their performance, which I completely agree with in concept, yet I feel is difficult to implement accurately in practice. I have several questions on that subject, including how teachers’ performances would be measured, because I feel these metrics have a high potential to unfairly penalize teachers or reward mediocrity. Once that question is answered, the next would be what is considered appropriate compensation for high performing teachers? There are nations that currently value the position of an educator much more than American educators are, and I believe many of those nations would be found above the U.S. on performance assessments. There’s a possibility those areas are related.
Nicholas
Part of the disparity between the educational achievement of America and the rest of the world is the fact that many other countries do not share the suicidal commitment to identical education for students of disparate abilities. Some countries such as China and Russia track student abilities from their earliest days, allowing only those with the highest aptitudes to attain the next level of education. Such a ruthlessly logical system cannot help but be effective, as the national resources are spent educating at the highest level only those students whose aptitudes ensure success. Yet such a program is decidedly immoral to Western sensibilities, with our ancient reverence for knowledge, extending back through to Socrates himself, we have endeavored to raise every student to heights of academic prowess, and have succeeded only in dragging everyone down. Attempts at holding teachers accountable for the success of their students only exacerbated the existing issues, fearing for their jobs, teachers and administrators lowered standards to ensure that all students met them, instead of encouraging the push toward greater educational achievement, recent educational policy has only caused America’s classrooms to become more ineffective. The issue cannot be spending alone, according to the Department of Education Federal grants to Maine alone increased by $37,849,707 (nearly 370%) between 1980 and 2014. The question is where is the money going. Since the Carter administration schools have been rapidly increasing the services they provide, meals, busing, sports, et cetera… this increase in extra-curricular services has had the effect of requiring more and more personnel, beyond the lunch ladies and bus drivers, but an ever-increasing bureaucracy that ironically has led to the effect of having entire careers spent in the “education” industry without the person in question ever instructing a student. The solution then is obvious, strip away the bureaucracy and reapply the existing funding to actually instructing students.
Samantha
Reflection upon the Nation at Risk and 25 years later article brought many questions about how the American educational system can be improved. Throughout the first article, it depicts how American industry and companies’ move over sees, creating a globalized economy, which according to the author impacted our educational values and the system itself. The notion that school is not as important as it is in other countries was evident in both articles. The Nation at Risk posed these dire problems that our country is facing, only to follow up with more insult to injury by implying in the 25 Years Later article that nothing really had changed throughout time. I thought the tone of this article was very fearful of foreign interference within our own country, evermore so at a time where we should be collaborating with other countries, not competing with them.
In the article I noticed that since 1983 America has put may more focus on education and what the problem is. However, through the skyrocket of standardized tests controlling all education, I would argue that we have taken a step backwards. Standardize testing is used to measure unrealistic standards of schools today. How are you supposed to measure competency, and then measure a school’s worth when there are other factors that result in bad testing scores. I think if this country really wants to improve education to compete with other foreign countries, it needs to find more true ways of measuring the growth and knowledge of students around the United States.
Rhi
For years, school teachers would tell us how competitive the "real world" was, but I never thought we would get to the point of calling our nation “at risk.” America has always had some prestigious standing among our competitors, but it seems that we are now in trouble as other nations start to progress and develop, not just in academics, but as human beings in general. We can see these red flags today in the news—there have been mass shootings in schools across the country, our police are being accused of being too violent, we have segregation still existing in many parts of the country, so on and so forth. We are fighting each other, instead of the competitors. We are entering an age where technology is everywhere and will the main source of communication in the years to come. Knowledge is going to be the ultimate “weapon” to maintain America’s reputation.
That being said, the education system is very different from what it was 25 years ago. A quote says, “As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves", which holds so much truth to it. No one is hurting us except ourselves in the educational realm, especially now with the changes in who heads our educational decisions as a nation. “A Nation at Risk” helped motivate our educators and educational boards, as it was thought to put down public schools, it helped them progress instead. There was hope in our public schools. Something needs to change in our educational system so that we may progress positively.
Table of Contents
Synthesis
by Laura, Elizabeth, and NickIn the original report titled “A Nation at Risk,” there seemed to be a great deal of evidence that, because the American educational system was declining, the entire country was as well. As future teachers, we all understand the value of a good education, but many of us felt uneasy about the ways in which “A Nation at Risk” and its follow-up article, “A Nation Accountable,” argued that main the purpose of education was to enable America to achieve and maintain the “number one” spot both in terms of the global economy and military.
Moreover, many of us felt uneasy or even disgusted that the concerns in “A Nation at Risk” were driven by greed and competitiveness. In their responses, many students acknowledged feelings of uncertainty about how student achievement can accurately be measured and how teachers might be rewarded or penalized as a result. We have, as a whole, come to the realization that the purpose of the American education system is to give all students an equal opportunity to learn and explore with the support and guidance of trained, caring educators.
We acknowledge that it’s somewhat scary to see the statistics presented in “A Nation at Risk,” and “A Nation Accountable,” because of what they seem to be saying about the American education system. At the same time, we hold the belief that, often, each of our students have struggles and successes that are impossible to measure, especially with a standardized test. Yet, because of the way the system is currently structured, many teachers feel pressured to “teach to the test” and are unable to spend as much time __educating the “whole” child__ as they would probably like to. Could this be the real reason why our education system is falling behind those of other countries? As a class, the majority of us picked up on some common threads in areas in which our country needs improvement, and posed potential solutions for our struggling system. Many of us felt that __teachers need to feel empowered__ rather than stigmatized and fearful of being “punished” for lack of student performance on standardized tests. Education should be treated like a serious profession, and __teachers should receive support__ (both financially and morally) for what they do. Many of us also felt that legislators who have little understanding of what it means to be a teacher and what the profession is actually like are calling all the shots when it comes to where the system is headed. It is the teacher that knows his or her students best, and it is the teacher that will be able to best support them and guide them to reaching their full potential. If some of the pressure to “perform” was lifted of the shoulders of America’s teachers, perhaps we would begin to see more growth and improvement within the education system.
Alaina
After reading the initial Nation at Risk article, I gained the sense that the educational system was seen as failing since the upcoming generation was the first to receive less education than their parents. In comparison to other countries, this work stressed the low achievement set out by the United States, especially in the areas of science and technology. It claimed that due to this, future students would not be prepared to live and work in our current world. A key aspect that was highlighted was the idea of a learning society, where life-long learning is established in all, and learning extends outside the school and into the constructs of home and society. I thought this was a great concept, however, instilling a lifelong love for learning in students who dislike school can prove difficult. Lastly, when this article discussed the tools at hand for overcoming the lack of educational stance, I was surprised. To begin, one of the tools was "the dedication, against all odds, that keeps teachers serving in schools and colleges, even as the rewards diminish" while I think this is a valuable tool, the government clearly highlights that educators and underrepresented, in the work that they do. In essence, I found this statement to support the abuse of educators in the workforce, knowing that their passions will keep them in schools despite worsening conditions in payment or benefits. I feel as if educators are a valuable tool, they should be treated as such. Based on the information above, I think one of the key reasons for the decrease in national educational ability is partly also due to the actual inclusion of those who had not equally received education before. This was essentially the first generation where many different races, language speakers, and abilities were upheld in the public education system. Therefore this made the achievement seem less in terms of testing, as these individuals had not been included up until this point, or received the education they rightfully deserved in the past.
It is clear that 25 years later the United States education system is not where it should be. Although changes have been made including hiring high quality teachers, setting national standards, and testing the performance of high schools, students are achieving at similar levels to 1983. One of the interesting facts I found is that even though spending per pupil has gone up in the United States, the performance of students has not risen. This is contrary to the belief that more resources and money per student yields better results. Another area that continues to need more work are inner city areas, where the graduation rate is only at 50%. One of the reforms the article talks about is paying teachers based on performance, and thus resulting with more qualified teachers. As a future educator I find this idea very questionable, as if you base teacher performance off of tests it will result in cheating, or teaching to the test. In addition, it makes it so teachers are constantly being rated for their effectiveness. If teachers are to self report their success they might set lower standards for their students than others. I think paying teachers on a performance based level is difficult, as it takes some teachers half the year to get students to want to learn the material. This is not because they are not making progress, but because they must meet the emotional and social needs of the students before they can learn. I am curious to see how present reforms model the world that I will be teaching in, and see if things improve based off the findings of this research.
Sarah
Education has changed immensely throughout time. Starting from a small schoolhouse to where we are now in such a short time is something to be very proud of. Through all of the changes in integration, women's rights, special education, so on and so forth, there have been huge deficits in other places that people are having a hard time realizing. In 1983, A Nation at Risk was published. This article was one that informed the educators, law makers, parents and students alike of the places in which schools were seriously lacking. 25 years later, an updated article was released and the ideas were not that much more advanced. We are in the same place as we were then. But where exactly are we failing, and is there even anyone to point fingers at?
For so long, educators were expected to just teach what the students needed to know, but now there is a current switch in how exactly we are teaching these students, and how we are trying to make sure that the content that we are teaching are keeping up with what they need to be learning. This is an idea that isn't very new but it is something that is happening so that our students aren't leaving school with little to no interest in what they were taught. The statistics of students who didn't go to college, and those who went and didn't graduate show such a decline in interest from students. We are slowly starting to realize, as a nation, that maybe just because we are constantly testing our children trying to find their progress; the learning comes from in the classroom and not just the test. I think that no matter how much effort we make as a society, there will always be a deficit somewhere. There needs to be a big change in how our educational system works, but because of politics, past views on education, current views on education, laws and such, the changes needed to take place will take such a long time before they get here! The biggest change in the 25 years since the first article was written was No Child Left Behind, but as we are reading today, in 2017, No Child Left Behind no longer exists, and has been replaced with something new. This is probably going to happen so many more times throughout my career. Will the system get it right eventually? Of course it will, but it is just going to take time, and persistent teachers to get it that far.
Elizabeth
While reading "A Nation at Risk," a question popped into my mind: Why are we competing? The basis of the author's anxiety seems to be the fear that other countries will surpass us in all areas and therefore ruin our economy. I am disgusted by the notion that schooling only serves the purpose of preparing young people to serve capitalism. We should not be trying to compete with other nations. The victories of other nations, such as the widespread implementation of renewable energy, are victories for humankind, and should be celebrated as such. Education is about empowering students and helping them to discover what their life means to them. We lose sight of that when we become obsessed with comparing students to each other, and to students in other nations.
The follow up to "A Nation at Risk" was published in 2008, 25 years after the original assessment. So what's changed since 1983? In short, not much. In the eyes of the authors of this report, this country is still in grave danger. Test scores aren’t high enough. Not enough kids are literate or graduating or attending institutions of higher learning.
To be honest, these statistics really don't mean anything to me. Testing and even erroneous content knowledge (like memorizing an entire poem but not understanding a word of it) are not indicators of a high school student's success in my eyes at all. We're all educators. We understand that each student is beautifully unique. Each student has their own personal struggles and triumphs, neither of which can usually be measured by any test. Teachers see small miracles every single day. That’s what we all care about.
In my mind, the only solution is to give students support and choice. Students should have to pass a couple of years of all their core academic subjects. During this time, they should be given ample time to practice and demonstrate skills with support from their instructors, free from grading penalties. At the end of their classes, their skills should be evaluated. This is where proficiency-based education is leading us. From there, students should be able to choose a career concentration of their choice, where they will learn from teachers with knowledge of that particular area (i.e., an electrician teaches students about the science behind their career) and also gain skills that will directly benefit them in that career. We have to treat students as people who are seeking to do something great with their lives, not simply pass. Only then will we be able to address the problems with the educational system.
Jordan
After reading the Nation a Risk article, I got the feeling that our educational system has not improved over generations. With times changing, students today are falling behind our advanced technological world. The article mentioned that because of low achievement, students would not be fit to live and work in our society. It claimed that we are entering the “information age” where learning is an investment of time and practice. A world where people want to be told what to think rather than developed their own thoughts. Schools today are driven to much by standardized tests and academic standards. Self discovery has become nonexistent in schools. For example students learn math today by memorizing formulas and definitions. This is why they are not prepared to live and work in our society. To fix this problem the article explained the concept of a learning society, where life-long learning is established in all. This gives students the power to be productive citizens both in and out of the classroom. Becoming a life-long learner instills the power of a good creative and practical problem solver, which is what all jobs are looking for.
25 years later and we are right back where we started. Many changes have been made like higher educated teachers, higher national standards, and performance testing of high school students. Even with this changes students are still performing at the same level as 1983. One interesting fact that I read, that make sense but the outcome was not expected, was how the achievement level has stayed the same but we are spending a lot more money on schools. This is a counter example of how teachers believe that more money leads to more resources, which leads to better learning. At the end of the day it goes back to how we are educating students. Are we giving them a way to think or are we helping them to become life-long learners.
John
In the beginning of the Nation at Risk article, it talked about different risks in the American world. One of the things was the American industries aren’t top of the line anymore. Things are being replaced by other countries overseas that can make products better and cheaper. This takes jobs away from Americans and takes us off the top of the developing world in some areas. The biggest risk is the intelligence of the American people. It’s important to have citizens that can all reach a common understanding of complex issues. Unfortunately, our education system isn’t always set up for everyone to succeed. Throughout the article it brings up many different educational points that the American people are lacking in. All of this was back in the 80’s. So how have we improved?
Some states made a step in the right direction by switching to a standards based education. It was a bumpy road and mistakes were made. That being said, it was a smart choice that could work towards fixing those mistakes and gradually improve. The biggest thing for me that I notice was the cost of getting an education. Getting a solid and up to date education can cost a lot of money. Even average schooling can be costly. If this isn’t a problem that gets addressed soon, then any progress we’ve made could hit a plateau simply because it will cost too much to get an education. On top of this, performance in high school hasn’t gotten any better since the 80’s and it could have actually gotten worse.
There is still so much that needs to be done about the education system and I don’t know if we will ever be able to solve all of the problems. If we fix one, there’s no guarantee that two more won’t take its place. I’m hopeful, however that we will be able to make improvements in the system but only if we really put the time and effort into it. It will likely cost a lot of money too.
Marissa
The tone of A Nation at Risk is certainly very fearful and puts a lot of importance in the ‘we’re number 1’ attitude that many Americans had and continue to have. Looking back, it’s hard to say that that attitude got us anywhere we wanted to be. Now, more than thirty years later very little has changed in our educational system and standardized test scores tell us that it still isn’t working. I think one of the biggest problems that the United States faces now is that education is not our highest priority. While the individual might cite education as a high priority our nations spending tells another story. Educators are simply not given their due and politicians are the ones writing legislation with little knowledge of how things play out in real life schools. If you look at countries such as South Korea and Japan the teachers there are paid more, given more support in their classrooms, and valued more in society. In the United States teaching is no longer seen as a highly-encouraged occupation. There is a common (and not at all misguided) notion that teaching is a grueling and thankless job – so why would anyone want to go into education? The catch is that we need excellent teachers now more than ever who can help move education in a positive direction. I think along with this needs to come support from the government – local, state, and federal – that backs up the lip-service telling us that education is a priority. We need current and former educators working together to make legislation that will bring about actual changes in test scores. We need more than good educators to increase test score, we need a change in mentality and we need to put our money where our mouth is in a way that is productive.
Riley
A Nation at Risk
This country is definitely in a tough spot when it come to education. We used to be one of the world leaders in education, but now our students test scores are middle of the pack at best. A big point brought up though is that in the years since 1983 America has put a lot more focus on education and what the problem is. Luckily now we area actively pursuing solutions to our mediocre test scores. Unfortunately, our test scores have gotten slightly worse since 1983.
Another alarming factor is the amount of kids who do not achieve a high school diploma. A crazy statistic from the article was that as of 2008 minority students only had about a 50% chance of graduating, with Native Americans below 50%.
A very positive fact is that our teachers are becoming more and more qualified due to an emphasis on teacher quality. A system that I really like is the performance based salary that some schools have adopted where teachers get paid different amounts depending on how well they are doing their jobs.
I think a big factor in this whole problem though is the problem of poverty and of parents who may not care about their childs education. I think the culture has changed when it comes to parents expectations of their kids in school. I think back in the days of America being on top in the education world parents were a lot stricter with making sure their kids worked hard in school. Of course, the poverty levels do not help either because we all know that if a students needs aren't met, he/she is not going to perform well in school.
Laura
These two articles, “A Nation at Risk” (published in 1983) and its follow-up article, “A National Accountable” (published in 2008) both act as “calls to action” for improving the American education system as it has drastically fallen behind those of competing countries in the past few decades.America was once a leader in world markets but is now performing well behind global counterparts, and these articles identify our faltering education system as the root cause of this predicament.Personally, I agree that a quality education is the cornerstone to an individual’s success and therefore the success of communities and a country as a whole, and I do feel that we need to re-evaluate the standards and expectations to which American students are held, but I do not necessarily agree with all of the ways in which these articles suggest we make these changes.“A Nation Accountable” provides a list of five different areas in which changes need to be made in order to reboot the national education system, many of which are necessary in general, but when it comes down to the fine-print, I believe that the government is placing too much accountability on students and teachers alike—so much to the point that it is doing more harm than good.For example, the article speaks highly of the No Child Left Behind Act, assuming that it has done only good and no wrong.While I believe that every student should be held to high standards and that a standards-based education system can provide teachers with a tangible framework to help them determine the areas in which their students should succeed, I do not agree with the high-stakes associated with standardized testing.I also do not believe that these tests are enough to determine whether or not a teacher is “superior, average, or poor” and if they should be “terminated” or not.This is what I believe, however: I believe in positive student/teacher relationships in which the teacher provides each of his/her students with the confidence that they are able to be successful, even under the most challenging circumstances, and that there are many more effective and accurate ways for students to demonstrate academic prowess besides through standardized tests.The government needs to support teachers and their students, and the best way to do this is to provide teachers with plenty of resources and the freedom to attend to the differing needs and learning styles of their students, without the unnecessary stress that high-stakes testing evokes.After all, it is the teachers that know best, and they are the ultimate key to their students’ success and the future of this country.Costa
I found the combined Nation at Risk assessments on American education to be very interesting reads. I was not surprised by the metrics pointing out that American education systems are producing students that are not performing as well as students in other countries, but I felt that some of the concerns of the original report were unfortunate, if not unsettling. The heavy focus on the implications that failing schools would have on our military, and our overall global supremacy as a nation, just doesn’t sit well with me, but thankfully those concerns are not as prevalent in the 25 year update. I don’t see anything wrong with comparing educational systems from around the world, and trying to improve our performance for the sake of our students, nation and planet, but I find it problematic to view education as a competition, and a means for military advancements. In my ideal world, all nations would be using education to work towards global disarmament, so seeing the priorities of only 35 years ago was disappointing, yet expected. Another thing that stood out to me was the mention of teachers having their pay match their performance, which I completely agree with in concept, yet I feel is difficult to implement accurately in practice. I have several questions on that subject, including how teachers’ performances would be measured, because I feel these metrics have a high potential to unfairly penalize teachers or reward mediocrity. Once that question is answered, the next would be what is considered appropriate compensation for high performing teachers? There are nations that currently value the position of an educator much more than American educators are, and I believe many of those nations would be found above the U.S. on performance assessments. There’s a possibility those areas are related.
Nicholas
Part of the disparity between the educational achievement of America and the rest of the world is the fact that many other countries do not share the suicidal commitment to identical education for students of disparate abilities. Some countries such as China and Russia track student abilities from their earliest days, allowing only those with the highest aptitudes to attain the next level of education. Such a ruthlessly logical system cannot help but be effective, as the national resources are spent educating at the highest level only those students whose aptitudes ensure success. Yet such a program is decidedly immoral to Western sensibilities, with our ancient reverence for knowledge, extending back through to Socrates himself, we have endeavored to raise every student to heights of academic prowess, and have succeeded only in dragging everyone down. Attempts at holding teachers accountable for the success of their students only exacerbated the existing issues, fearing for their jobs, teachers and administrators lowered standards to ensure that all students met them, instead of encouraging the push toward greater educational achievement, recent educational policy has only caused America’s classrooms to become more ineffective. The issue cannot be spending alone, according to the Department of Education Federal grants to Maine alone increased by $37,849,707 (nearly 370%) between 1980 and 2014. The question is where is the money going. Since the Carter administration schools have been rapidly increasing the services they provide, meals, busing, sports, et cetera… this increase in extra-curricular services has had the effect of requiring more and more personnel, beyond the lunch ladies and bus drivers, but an ever-increasing bureaucracy that ironically has led to the effect of having entire careers spent in the “education” industry without the person in question ever instructing a student. The solution then is obvious, strip away the bureaucracy and reapply the existing funding to actually instructing students.
Samantha
Reflection upon the Nation at Risk and 25 years later article brought many questions about how the American educational system can be improved. Throughout the first article, it depicts how American industry and companies’ move over sees, creating a globalized economy, which according to the author impacted our educational values and the system itself. The notion that school is not as important as it is in other countries was evident in both articles. The Nation at Risk posed these dire problems that our country is facing, only to follow up with more insult to injury by implying in the 25 Years Later article that nothing really had changed throughout time. I thought the tone of this article was very fearful of foreign interference within our own country, evermore so at a time where we should be collaborating with other countries, not competing with them.
In the article I noticed that since 1983 America has put may more focus on education and what the problem is. However, through the skyrocket of standardized tests controlling all education, I would argue that we have taken a step backwards. Standardize testing is used to measure unrealistic standards of schools today. How are you supposed to measure competency, and then measure a school’s worth when there are other factors that result in bad testing scores. I think if this country really wants to improve education to compete with other foreign countries, it needs to find more true ways of measuring the growth and knowledge of students around the United States.
Rhi
For years, school teachers would tell us how competitive the "real world" was, but I never thought we would get to the point of calling our nation “at risk.” America has always had some prestigious standing among our competitors, but it seems that we are now in trouble as other nations start to progress and develop, not just in academics, but as human beings in general. We can see these red flags today in the news—there have been mass shootings in schools across the country, our police are being accused of being too violent, we have segregation still existing in many parts of the country, so on and so forth. We are fighting each other, instead of the competitors. We are entering an age where technology is everywhere and will the main source of communication in the years to come. Knowledge is going to be the ultimate “weapon” to maintain America’s reputation.That being said, the education system is very different from what it was 25 years ago. A quote says, “As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves", which holds so much truth to it. No one is hurting us except ourselves in the educational realm, especially now with the changes in who heads our educational decisions as a nation. “A Nation at Risk” helped motivate our educators and educational boards, as it was thought to put down public schools, it helped them progress instead. There was hope in our public schools. Something needs to change in our educational system so that we may progress positively.